Canadian patent 1,200,232 and Canadian patent 1,267,114 describe hang bags made of heat shrinkable film of a type useful in packaging items such as meat for display. Canadian patent 1,267,114 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,028 describe decoration of a bag by printing a film before laminating it to tubing from which a bag is made. As discussed above there are difficulties inherent to printing a thin film. There are also problems encountered when the products to be bagged are irregularly shaped and are run at high speeds. There is therefore a need for an alternative which improves package consistency.
There is also a need for a process for printing a bag which gives an improved appearance with better print quality and produces printed bags reliably and consistently.